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Russia and China launch biggest war games in decades in veiled threat to the West

Moscow said the Vostok (East) 2018 manoeuvres will span vast expanses of Siberia and the Far East and involve nearly 300,000 Russian troops, more than 1,000 aircraft, about 36,000 tanks and other military vehicles and 80 warships.

China is also sending about 3,200 troops, 900 combat vehicles and 30 aircraft to join the drills at a Siberian firing range, a significant deployment that reflects its shift toward a fully fledged military alliance with Russia.

Tanks roll during the military exercises in the Chita region (AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vladimir Putin in Russia as the manoeuvres kicked off (Getty)

As the manoeuvres kicked off, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia to attend an economic forum in Vladivostok.

President Vladimir Putin treated him to pancakes with caviar and shots of vodka in a show of their warm personal ties.

Moscow and Beijing have forged what they described as a ‘strategic partnership’, expressing their shared opposition to the ‘unipolar’ world, the term they use to describe perceived US global domination.

Russia’s ‘war games’ (PA)

Some experts pointed that the US helped spawn closer Russian-Chinese military ties by labelling them strategic competitors.

Yue Gang, a military expert and retired Chinese army colonel, said: ‘They feel they need to embrace to deal with the increasingly high pressure and containment from the US.’

He noted that China feels that the US’s hostile attitude and actions, such as deploying a missile defence system in South Korea, relieve it of any need to take Washington’s views into consideration when deepening strategic trust with Moscow.